We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Louis Papadakis a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Louis, thanks for joining us today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

If I’m being real with you… I would’ve started my creative endeavor of authoring and illustrating my children’s books sooner. But I’m also at a point in my life knowing that I wouldn’t have been ready yet—and that matters too!
Back then, I was always saying “one day, some day!” And the truth is, the smarter you are, the better your excuses sound. I’m not saying I’m smarter than anybody- I’m saying I was full of excuses. I had plenty of reasons why not to start publishing my books, why not to create, why not to put myself out there. I wasn’t “the creative author.” I was focused on life, on business, on figuring things out, rather.

The paradigm moment for my artistic side happened inadvertently!

My life shifted when I got into a relationship with the woman who is now my wife, and with her came her three-year-old step son. And at that time, I was just… a new man in his life, trying to figure out where I fit. There’s no “step” in our relationship now—that’s my son—but back then, I was still finding my place in his life.

My wife had this simple yet brilliant idea. She said, “Why don’t you read to him bedtime stories at night ? It might help break the ice.” – as a new man in his life.

And honestly, I did it reluctantly.

But night after night, I showed up. I’d sit there and read to him. At first it felt small, almost insignificant. But over time, something started to change. He got used to me reading to him at night over his mom. Then he started asking for me during bedtime readings- That meant something.

And then there was one night, about eight months into the relationship, that changed everything.

We were reading the old bedtime classic, Curious George. Right in the middle of the story, he fell asleep on me. So I stopped reading. I looked down at him, tucked him in, brushed his soft hair back, and like I always did, I leaned in and said, “Goodnight, buddy… I love you.”

I got up and started walking out of the room.

And for the first time ever, I heard it back.

“I love you too.”

Man… that hit me.

That was a gut check moment I’ll never forget. Everything slowed down. And in that moment, I realized something powerful—I wasn’t just reading a bedtime story. I was shaping a childhood. I was stepping into fatherhood. I was creating a bond that started with something as simple as a picture book.

And right there, something shifted in me.

I didn’t want to just read these stories anymore.

I wanted to create them!

It took three words from a three-year-old—“I love you”—to break through every excuse I had and push me into utilizing my artistic gift and do what I’m doing today.

So yeah… if I could go back, I’d start sooner. But the truth is, I started the moment I finally understood why it mattered most.

Louis, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

If someone’s hearing about me for the first time, I’d say this—I’m a children’s book author, but what I’m really focused on is solving a problem most parents don’t even realize exists until it’s too late.

Every child hits those moments—the “I can’t” moments. When something feels too big, too frustrating, too uncomfortable. And as adults, we usually respond with the right intentions… we say, “Be brave,” “Keep going,” “Don’t give up.” But the reality is, those words don’t always land, because the child hasn’t experienced what those words actually mean yet.

That’s the gap I try to solve, and I do it with whimsical illustrations, and fun, simple stories through the power of a picturebook that I hope kids (and Mom’s), love.

I create are stories that become a shared language between parent and child, so when those real-life moments happen, there’s something deeper to pull from than just another funny kids book.

When a child enters my book world, they meet GERTIE the giraffe—a character who feels overwhelmed by challenges, just like they do. She struggles, she hesitates, she fails… but through every setback, every fall, she finds a spark of courage inside herself. And that’s the key—it’s not handed to her. She discovers it through her own emotional journey.

I don’t write stories just to entertain. I write simple stories that act as a mirror for a child’s heart.

They show them that falling isn’t the opposite of success—it’s part of learning how to rise. That resilience isn’t just a nice idea—it’s a tool they can use. That resourcefulness isn’t luck—it’s a muscle they can build.

So when a parent shares one of my books, they’re not just reading a story before bed. They’re creating an experience. They’re giving their child an emotional toolkit they can come back to when life gets hard.

Now instead of saying, “Don’t give up,” they can say, “What would GERTIE do?”
And the child doesn’t just hear it—they feel it. They can model what their favorite giraffe would do in similar circumstances.

That’s what I want to be known for.

Creating stories that stay with a child long after the last page… stories that quietly build belief. The kind of belief that says, I can do this. Even when it’s hard.

I believe when anybody carries that with them early in life, it changes everything! Today I have a collection of childrenbooks
Titled: “The gigantic Girafee with grit” and
“Gertie Braves the River,” which have won multiple international awards, national distribution deals this upcoming spring and have become Amazon best sellers…
And also my upcoming books in the series called: “ This Girafee is scared of heights,” and “Sky High Squawks” all which have gotten really great feedback from parents, and tell me I’m pointing in the right direction with my publishing vision.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Yeah, this one’s real for me. When people look at what I’m doing now, they see the books and the message, but they don’t always see what it looked like while it was being built. At the time, I was deep in the logistics business, (and still am.) —14, 15, sometimes 18-hour days, over the road, long hauls, constant pressure—and none of it had anything to do with writing or illustrating. So if I wanted to, I had the perfect excuse: “I don’t have time.” And it was a good excuse.

But somewhere along the way, I realized it wasn’t about having time—it was about how I was using the time I already had. Because when you’r business takes you on the road that much, yeah it’s exhausting, but it’s also quiet. No distractions, no noise, no meetings… just you and your thoughts. And instead of seeing that as dead time, I started seeing it differently. I turned my logistics operation into what I joke about as my “university on wheels” (laughs)—and I mean that. That road became my classroom, my creative space, my place to think.

Ideas for GERTIE didn’t come from some perfect writing desk—they came from miles on the road. I’d think through stories while driving, capture ideas in voice notes, my paper coffee cup always next to me, piece things together in the small windows I had. I stopped waiting for the perfect setup and started building with what was already in front of me.

And the craziest part is, what I thought was my biggest handicap—working crazy hours in a completely different industry—actually became my greatest advantage. It forced me to become resourceful. It forced me to be intentional. I had to stop saying “I can’t” and start asking “how can I?”

And that’s when it hit me—I was living the exact lesson I now write about. In my books my illustrated characters don’t wait for perfect conditions to cross the “rivers” in their lives. They figured it out with what they already have that they can work with! That became real for me. I didn’t suddenly get more time, I just got better with the time I had. I didn’t remove the obstacle, I learned how to move through it.

Looking back, I’m actually grateful for those long hours, because they built that muscle. Discipline. Focus. No distractions, no fluff—just progress, little by little. So when I talk about resilience, it’s not some big moment, it’s that decision you make over and over again to keep going with what you’ve got. And that’s exactly what I want kids to understand too—you don’t need perfect conditions to do something meaningful. You just need to start, use what you have, and keep going. That’s also my journey as well.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being creative by my opinion isn’t coming up with ideas—it’s seeing what other people overlook and choosing to do something fresh with it. Ideas are everywhere, but creativity is interpretation; it’s taking a small moment, a feeling, or a detail and shaping it into something meaningful and useful. Real artistry shows up in constraints, not perfect conditions—when you create anyway despite time, pressure, or uncertainty. And here’s the truth most people miss: creativity isn’t about talent, it’s about courage see it differently and consistency to shape it into existence through your unique personal experience! The courage to put something out before it’s perfect, and the consistency to keep going when it doesn’t feel like it’s working. Creativity isn’t something you wait to feel—it’s something you train yourself to recognize, capture, and execute on. That’s the difference between having ideas and actually creating them. To me that unique process is very human. It’s very rewarding!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://louispapadakisbooks.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gertiebravestheriver?igsh=MXV4ampiMXM5eDhjOA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/14h5ZsuXJw9/?mibextid=wwXIfr
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@gertiethegiraffe?_r=1&_t=ZP-954YJO7Ci2Y